Reality Shmeality

Chapter Twenty

The next couple of weeks were really exciting at the garden. To see the little seedlings start to blossom was a wonderful sensation. The first day I saw that barren wasteland I didn't think anything would grow out there, especially considering that Chris and I had no idea what we were doing. One of the plants doing very well was mnavu, a bitter-tasting leafy vegetable that was widely used in the area. Its name in English is African nightshade, which I thought was arguably the coolest name on earth for a vegetable. Seeing the bushy leaves growing at what seemed like warp speed was exciting. That excitement vanished quickly on a Thursday morning when we arrived to see a bunch of goats having themselves a feast in the mnavu plot. I damn near broke my leg chasing them away. We needed a fence.

There was plenty of scrap wood from the construction site that we would be able to use as posts, but we needed some kind of metal fencing or barbed wire to keep the animals out. It was especially urgent because there were loads of other plants starting to take off. We dug holes for the posts around the garden and headed into town early to buy the necessary fencing. Chris had to go meet Sarah so I told him not to worry about helping me out at the hardware store. I had learned some language basics and knew some numbers so I would be able to say how many meters I needed while pointing to the barbed wire. The hardware store was across the street from Kili Crafts for Kids so I decided to pop in there quickly to say hello before heading to the bank and buying the fencing. It was a real pain having to go to the bank to get cash for such purchases but few places accepted credit cards.

Polina noticed me in front of the studio and came over to let me in. I decided it was about time I let her know about the situation with Ana, and tell her that in the not too distant future, she would be visiting. She took the news way better than I expected. She told me that the last thing she was looking for was something serious, having recently been heartbroken by her ex-fiancé back in Moscow.

"You do realize that you have only known that girl for a few days, though?" she asked, giving me a peculiar look as if trying not to laugh at how ridiculous my situation was.

"Yeah well, sometimes you just get a feeling that something is right."

"I think it's great you met her and that you guys feel a strong connection. That is so important."

"I'm relieved that you understand. I was feeling overwhelmed with guilt."

"How did you guys leave it when you spoke to her?" she asked.

"We said we will see what happens when we are together and to not worry about anything until then."

"That sounds like the perfect solution," she said as she reached over and grabbed my crotch. She looked up at me while biting her lip. I felt dominated. She had me in the palm of her hand and there was nothing I could do about it. My conscious was now clean so I grabbed Polina and pulled her close. It was nice to know that I didn't have to feel guilty anymore, but we stopped before things got crazy considering the kids would be showing up soon and I had errands to run. She told me to come back afterward to help out with the kids and I obliged.

As I walked toward the bank I noticed a couple of young men staring at me but thought nothing of it. I didn't exactly blend in and became used to people watching me as I walked down the road. I went into the bank and withdrew four hundred dollars for the fencing and some other gardening supplies. I figured since we were going to hire a driver to bring out the fencing, it would be worth picking up some other things as well. Better to take advantage of not having to lug everything out there on the lorry or in a dalla. Four hundred dollars was over half a million shillings, and it wasn't something that could fit in a wallet. Again, out of my paranoia, I divided up the money into some different parts of my backpack and different pockets of my shorts. As I walked out of the bank and headed toward the hardware store, I noticed the same two guys staring in my direction. This time they were even closer and walking toward me. They were young but both significantly bigger than me. I tried my best to play it cool and continued on my way. For all I knew, they just wanted to try and sell me some art or a trip up Kilimanjaro.